Betty Nicols, Kirkcaldy

Betty Nicols is a traditional pub with a serving counter up the right-hand wall that faces open plan seating on wooden flooring up the left. Some black and white tiles run along the floor adjacent to the counter and along the front etched windows where there’s a beer shelf with chairs. The walls have original glazed tiles from red to green, it’s worth popping in just to see them. During a recent early Wednesday evening visit two of the three hand pumps were in use drawing an offering from Loch Lomond Brewery and Fyne Ales’ Jarl. This venue is also a bistro, so I imagine there’s a dining area that I didn’t discover on this visit. I liked it in here, but this pub closes very early Sunday to Thursday so I didn’t get to stay as long as I would have like. Maybe next time.

A fine pub with a classy front and an even better interior. The floor is a mix of bare boards and floor tiles, but it gets better as the eyes lift up. The walls have some outstanding tiling, and the gap from there to the ceiling is covered by a striking wallpaper with a dramatic thistle pattern. The ceiling is the cynosure, which my camera failed to do justice to, so you'll just have to come and see it for yourself. Oh, and check out the window with its crossed malt shovel and fork below a beautiful ship executed in stained glass. The bar counter, in a corner near the front right door, is a picture too, with a dramatic bar back surmounted by a clock telling the right time, and the front having a wooden elbow rail with brass fittings, a brass rail for the feet, and hooks for your jacket or bag. Two hand pumps on the bar, and a friendly woman serving, joined by the cook so that they could both complain about not being in my photos. My half of Fyne Jarl, not one of my favourite beers, was in fine condition, but to be fair this pub is so good I think I might have given it an 8 even if there'd been no real ale. As a previous reviewer hinted, it's good enough to have been in Edinburgh, but here it is in Kirkcaldy. Just be grateful.